Steeplechase of Charleston stakes are high as trainers and jockeys eye national title |
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Trainers, jockeys and horses are preparing to round the corner on Nov. 14 at the Stono Ferry Racetrack for The Post and Courier’s third annual Steeplechase of Charleston with thousands in prize money and national titles on the line.
The South Carolina event marks the end of the National Steeplechase Association’s racing season, and trainers Jack Fisher and Leslie Young find themselves tied for wins going into the weekend as both eye the title of trainer of the year.
Additionally, rider Graham Watters is tied in wins with jockey Thomas Garner, making it a tight competition for one of them to secure the most track victories this season with the championship in reach.
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There’s also a significant amount of money on the line, with $85,000 worth of prize rewards to be captured from among the day’s five races.
“Those jockeys and trainers will be represented in at least four of the five races that we that we run,” said Toby Edwards, executive director of the Carolina Cup Racing Association. “So they are coming here loaded for bear and they are all vying to win the championship.”
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Racing fans cheer on the riders in The Evening Post Cup during the Steeplechase of Charleston at the Plantation at Stono Ferry in Hollywood in November 2020. File/Grace Beahm Alford/Staff |
Per the National Steeplechase Association, horses can’t compete any younger than 3 years old. But unlike other races where the thoroughbreds are usually the same age, steeplechase racing is often a mixed bag. Thoroughbreds can be anywhere from a few years old to nearly 15 sometimes.
The premier race of the day is for the Alston Cup, named for Revolutionary War Col. William Alston. It pits the youngest 3-year-old thoroughbreds at the start of their careers against each other for a $25,000 prize.
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Signature event – the Alston Cup |
When Pierre Manigault took the reins from the former organizers, he knew he needed a signature event for his Steeplechase of Charleston.
He found a unique prize in his own trophy case.
His paternal great, great grandfather, William Alston was huge into horse racing in colonial era Charleston. Alston had helped establish the Washington Race Course, a one-mile loop around what today is Hampton Park near downtown Charleston. Races ran there 1792-1882.
Alston himself had won a big race at Washington in the 1920s, but there was no grand trophy given to the winner.
Alston bought his own, inscribing it with his name and the race name. Pierre Manigault donated the handsome, two-handled silver cup for their 3-year-old hurdle feature. (Read more HERE)
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While racing will certainly take the spotlight, the Steeplechase of Charleston promises to be a celebration of South Carolina’s storied horse-racing traditions stemming from the creation of America’s first jockey club to being the state which fabled horse Secretariat’s groomer and trainer emerged. |
Coming back from COVID-19
Steeplechase of Charleston was owned by The Randolph Co., which operated the race since 1986. When The Post and Courier purchased the race in 2019, Evening Post Publishing Chairman Pierre Manigault said he wanted to highlight the unique nature of steeplechase racing.
“Steeplechase represents the old school of horse racing when owners and trainers had smaller, more intimate stables and raced more for bragging rights than checks,” he said at the time. “Also, they’re usually held in lovely rural pastoral settings, which makes for a wonderful day in the country.”
This weekend’s Steeplechase of Charleston comes as COVID-19 fears and restrictions begin to ease up. Last season, general admission was restricted and attendance was limited to tailgating and hospitality tents.
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History of horse racing: Tradition gallops on |
Horses gallop around the track during the South Carolina Inter-State and West Indian Exposition, held in the early 1900s (1901-02) at what is now known as Hampton Park. The first jockey club in the United States was founded in Charleston. |
Long before Secretariat secured the Triple Crown and more than a century before Churchill Downs was opened to host the Kentucky Derby, South Carolina set the standard for American horse racing.
In 1734, the first jockey club in the United States was founded in Charleston. As agriculture-rich families began to invest in prized thoroughbreds, trade with English horse breeders overseas was opened and brought the animals stateside.
Races in Edisto Island, Jacksonboro, Pocotaligo and Strawberry Ferry quickly followed and before Charleston’s Hampton Park was created, far more colts than fitness-crazed residents ran around its vast acreage.
The city became one of the most significant horse-racing venues in the world and, at one point, had as many as 10 racetracks.
On Sunday, Nov. 14, history and tradition are being celebrated with the Steeplechase of Charleston at the Stono Ferry Racetrack in Hollywood.
Whole different animal
Steeplechase racing started out as a bet.
In 1752, Irish brothers Cornelius O’Callaghan and Edmund Blake wanted to see who was the faster rider, and they decided to have a cross-country race from one church steeple to another a little more than 6 miles apart. The men ran their horses through lush grass, rolling hills and over babbling brooks.
For years later, a similar race in Charleston was held in 1792 as part of Washington Race week and even featured a 1-mile loop around Hampton Park. One significant artifact from that racecourse remains: In 1903, its ornate gate was gifted to Belmont Park in New York, home to the third leg of the Triple Crown.
Organized horse racing essentially ceased during the Civil War, but some Confederate soldiers still broke regulation and held their own contests when officers turned a blind eye.
A key moment of revival came shortly after the war, when Thomas Hitchcock constructed a steeplechase facility on his large, 3,000-acre property in Aiken.
Steeplechase racing is a whole different animal from what many traditionally think of when it comes to horse racing. Unlike the Kentucky Derby, where horses will train for a week or more on the dirt before the “Run For The Roses,” many of the Steeplechase contenders come to the track unprepared.
The thoroughbred horses are older, and heavier, than usual. They are trained in the countryside, where running on grass and jumping over obstacles is more commonplace, more natural, for them. They typically run only 10 or fewer races per year.
“It gives them a second life,” said journalist Don Clippinger. “It builds a closer relationship with the thoroughbreds and their owners and trainers because they are running much longer than other racehorses.”
Today in South Carolina, betting on horse racing is not allowed. Still, many feel that steeplechase racing has continued to thrive because of its emphasis on the sport itself, not on the dollars being thrown around because of it.
“It’s a different experience,” Clippinger said. “Steeplechase of Charleston is very family-oriented. It’s an experience as much as it’s a horse race. People are tailgating, the kids are throwing footballs, and it’s a good opportunity to see horse racing close up.”
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But this year the fanfare, crowds and festivities will return in full force and attendees can be excited about fashion contests, a color guard from Burke High School, live music and activities for children. |
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Additionally, there will also be a special dressage by Jill Allard, a Camden-based rider and trainer with more than 30 years of experience.
Dressage, the skill of riding and training a horse in a manner that develops obedience, flexibility and balance, is a choreographed demonstration set to music, similar to the artful movements of ballet.
“Basically the horse is dancing,” Allard said. “We’re supposed to look like we’re not doing anything, and the horse is moving rhythmically on its own. But it takes about eight years to teach a horse, and it’s not a quick process.”
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On Sunday, Allard and Abby will perform a series of dance steps synchronized to upbeat music including straight lines, circles, sideways movements, diagonals and keeping the horse in place. The two have been training together for just over a year at Oakwood Dressage in Camden, a private boarding and dressage training facility owned and managed by Allard. |
The gates open at 8 a.m. on Nov. 14 at at the Stono Ferry Racetrack in Hollywood. The first race begins at 1 p.m. and races will run every 45 minutes. The Alston Cup will be the fourth race of the day at 3:15 p.m., with the final race starting at 4 p.m.
But even if horse racing isn’t your thing, Edwards said there will be no shortage of activities.
“You haven’t just got the races, you’ve got so many other activities on the stage, the live band and the fashion show,” Edwards said. “There’s lots to do as a family.”
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About race director Toby Edwards
Toby Edwards, race director for Steeplechase of Charleston, has been involved in horse racing his entire life, starting when he was 17 years old in Lambourne, England, followed by The Curragh in Ireland, and then in the United States in 1990.
Along the way, he has served the race community as a jockey, trainer and race manager. In addition to race director of Steeplechase of Charleston, Edwards currently serves as the executive director of the Carolina Cup Racing Association and race director of Block House Steeplechase in Tryon, N.C.
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Welcome to the Steeplechase of Charleston
The Lowcountry is ready to return to its grandeur with sport, family fun, and the world-class horse racing event Steeplechase of Charleston presented by Lexus. There’s simply no better way to enjoy a crisp, beautiful fall outing than a day at the races.
This year we’re excited to offer an experience that provides something for everyone. The Vendor Village will be enhanced to include a wide array of artisans and merchants providing unique and popular products – just in time for the holidays! Our stage will return with live music, engaging entertainment and fashion contests. Children can frolic in the Family Fun Zone as tickets for children 12 and under are free.
The equestrian competition will include five high- stakes horse races with $85,000 in purse winnings and championship titles on the line. In past years, the outcome of both the training and jockey competition have been determined by the results of this race. With great style, it will mark the end of the season and last race for the National Steeplechase Association.
The American College of The Building Arts will
serve as our 2021 official charity. In 2009, the college awarded its first degrees to seven students and since has graduated over 130. They continue to educate and train artisans in the traditional building arts to foster exceptional craftsmanship and encourage the preservation, enrichment, and understanding of the world’s architectural heritage through a liberal arts education. We encourage you to read more about them at acba.edu.
As we prepare for Charleston’s most vibrant day of horseracing, we’d like to thank our sponsors, partners and volunteers for their support. We welcome you to join us on November 14 and experience the splendor of this distinctive event with your family and friends.
P.J. Browning
President and Publisher of The Post and Courier
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Nov 15, 2020 - Champagne was sprayed at the end of the Steeplechase of Charleston on Sunday at the Stono Ferry Racetrack, and not just in honor of the newly crowned jockey of the year.
The bubbly flowed to mark the end of a difficult season for the National Steeplechase Association, impacted as much as any other sport by the coronavirus pandemic. And the Steeplechase of Charleston, the final event of the NSA season, might just have shown the way forward during the pandemic for the steeplechase, a staple event in South Carolina cities such as Charleston, Aiken and Camden.
Races in Aiken and Camden were wiped out earlier this year by the pandemic, as was about two-thirds of the NSA schedule. The Steeplechase of Charleston, owned by the parent company of The Post and Courier, was only the second event of the season to allow spectators.
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“We’ve proved today that, even under COVID-19 restrictions, it is possible to pull off a very successful event,” said race director Toby Edwards, who also runs races in Aiken and Camden. “I’m very proud we were able to pull this off. I hate to say that I don’t know what the new normal is, but we showed what is possible.”
Ticket sales were limited to about 50 percent of the capacity of the 60-acre property at Stono Ferry, and spectators sported protective masks along with traditional bowties and colorful head gear. Even after a week of rain, the grounds were not nearly as muddy as they had been last year.
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“The track is in much better shape,” said owner/trainer Kate Dalton, whose horse Mr. Sarinana won the final race of the day, The Alston Cup.
On the track, the day belonged to Hall of Fame trainer Jonathan Sheppard and jockey Gerard Galligan, the NSA’s trainer and jockey of the year in the final standings.
Sheppard had already clinched the top trainer award before coming to Charleston, but Galligan trailed rival Michael Mitchell by one victory heading into the Steeplechase of Charleston.
Sheppard and Galligan teamed to sweep the first four races, a rare achievement on the NSA circuit.
Galligan, a 29-year-old Irishman and the son of a bookmaker in County Kildaire, called it “the best day of my career.”
“It was the first time a trainer has won four on the card in America,” Galligan said. “And it’s very rare for a jockey to win four in a row. I’m in shock, I’m speechless.”
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Gerard Galligan won the maiden hurdle at Charleston in 2020 aboard Jonathan Sheppard owned and trained Bet the Pot - one of Galligan's and Sheppard's four wins on the day.
©Grace Beahm Alford
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Galligan rode four Sheppard-trained horses to victory: High Sierra in the Evening Post Cup, Penitence in the Publisher Cup, Bet the Pot in The Post and Courier Cup and Zoom Zoom Zoe in The Editor Cup, all run at 2¼-miles.
“It was one of those once-in-a-lifetime days,” Galligan said. “I walked the course, and it was a little bit softer inside. So I plotted the same track every time, moving a little bit wider, and that helped. But it was the biggest day of my career, for sure. I had never been in contention for the jockey title before, so this is huge for my career.”
Only the husband-and-wife team of jockey Bernard Dalton and owner/trainer Kate Dalton could slow the Sheppard/Galligan duo. The Daltons’ Mr. Sarinana finished half a length ahead of Galligan’s ride Lap of the Gods in the fifth and final race.
Sheppard and Galligan, and their horses’ owners, took home $32,700 of the $65,000 purse.
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Bernie Dalton and Mr. Sarinana, owned and trained by wife Kate Dalton, held off Jonathan Sheppard owned and trained Bet the Pot and Gerard Galligan in the final race of 2020 - the Alston Cup for three-year-olds.
©©Grace Beahm Alford
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“The last I remember a trainer and jockey winning four races was in the 1990s,” race director Edwards said. “It’s an incredible feat for a trainer to come to a race and win four, and to get beat in the last by the shortest of short noses. Very unusual, not just in America but around the world.
“I think the trainer was determined that his jockey was going to win the title, and they came loaded for bear.”
Galligan ended up with 14 victories on 61 mounts for the season, while Mitchell was second with 11 victories in 62 rides. Sheppard claimed 20 wins in 79 starts for the season.
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With only one meet remaining this season the battle for leading jockey and trainer is still a horse race. The Steeplechase of Charleston card consists of four races over hurdles plus a flat training event.
In the race for top jockey, Tom Garner and Graham Watters are tied with 19 wins apiece. Garner has accumulated the highest earnings to date. Both Garner and Watters are scheduled to ride in three of the four hurdle races.
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Graham Watters, whose win in last Sunday's allowance timber at the PA Hunt Cup Races increased his win total to 19 (Tod Marks photo, left), thinks he has a good shot at riding some winners on Sunday at Charleston.
"I have three rides this Sunday and the three have equal chances," says Watters. "Make a Stand for Mark Beecher is in good form coming off 2 flat runs; Gostisbehere has good form and should like the track; Ghostlighter is improving with every run and should also like the track."
Port Lairge Stables' Make a Stand runs in the maiden claiming hurdle. Hall of Fame trainer Jack Fisher runs Gostisbehere in the Ratings Handicap for Riverdee Stable, who is coming off last Saturday's stellar three win day. Bruton Street-US' Ghostlighter, also trained by Fisher, makes his third start over hurdles in the Alston Cup for three-year-olds.
"Winning the jockey's title would mean a lot to me but not the be all and end all," says Watters. "At the end of the year I have had a fantastic season, winning my first Grade 1 at the Iroquois and a number of stakes races and creating a strong partnership with the Fisher stable and his owners.
"Competing for the title with a close friend Tom Garner has been fun also, giving each other some stick all season."
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Tom Garner, who picked up three wins at the International Gold Cup Races (Tod Marks photo, left, of Garner and International Gold Cup winner Tomgarrow), also thinks his mounts on Sunday give him good chances for some wins.
"They've all got chances," says Garner. "They wouldn't be in it if they didn't. Don't Shout, in the Ratings, has been knocking on the door - I think he's probably my best shot. If Duckett's Grove can get his jumping together he's going to be very tough. Twentyoneguns has got a chance. I'm grateful to be in the position I am."
All of Garner's rides at Charleston are for trainer Leslie Young. Potter Group USA, LLC's Don't Shout comes into his third race in America off a second in last week's Ratings Handicap at Montpelier. The Irish bred raced for three years in England before coming to the States over the summer. Maranto Manor, LLC's Duckett's Grove looks for his first win over hurdles after pulling up in the maiden hurdle last week at Montpelier. Ashwell Stable's Twentyoneguns makes his very first career start in the maiden claiming hurdle.
"It's an honor," says Garner about being in the hunt for a leading jockey title. "Growing up you dream of being champion jockey. I didn't think I'd be in this position in America, and I would take a lot of pride in it if it did work out."
Garner will return to England for the winter, aiming to pick up some rides there during the American off season, and will return to the States in the Spring to ride on the NSA circuit.
"I don’t know who I’ll be handing my title over to on Sunday," says reigning champion jockey Gerard Galligan, "but I hope the two lads enjoy the experience of the day as much as I did last year. It was the best day of my life."
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Among conditioners, Leslie Young and Jack Fisher are knotted at 15 wins apiece. Keri Brion, who has all but locked up the leading trainer award by purse earnings, has 13; Neil Morris has 12. Brion and Young have entries in all four hurdle races; Fisher and Morris have entries in two. |
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Leslie Young, pictured with husband and champion jockey Paddy Young (Tod Marks photo) looks to pick up her first leading trainer title on Sunday.
"I feel I have had some exciting things happen in my life," says Young. "In high school, I was a field hockey and lacrosse All Star team member. In college, I was a Lacrosse Regional All American and North\South All-Stars member. I was pony racing Champion back in the day for small and large ponies and even was nationally ranked in Pony Club Tetrathlon.
"I grew up working for Jonathan Sheppard and Jack Fisher - two of the greats whom I still look up to today. They were my heroes growing up. So I feel leading trainer would be my GREATEST accomplishment."
Young ships six to Charleston for the races on Sunday, with entries in all four hurdles races. "I feel we have some lovely horses headed down," she says. "Not sure we have a HOT Horse. I am hopeful with them all.
"I have a few I feel have as good a shot as any other. Jack, Keri, and Neil are competitors so nothing is a given.
"I could never be in this situation without my amazing horses, owners and staff who day in and day out put in the hard work," continues Young. "If we could pull it off it would be for my staff as well. No matter what happens Sunday I wish my competition good luck. I hope we all have safe trips and competitive racing in a sport we all love."
As for the leading jockey title? "It would be great for Tom Garner," says Young. "I gave Tom his first leg up in America back in 2017. He was very loyal to me after Saratoga this year. So I would be truly happy for Tom."
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Hall of Fame trainer Jack Fisher runs two at Charleston. (Tod Marks photo, left)
"I feel the most important title, for the sport itself, is the leading trainer in races won," says Fisher. "To be leading money earner takes one horse to get you there - which is a great accomplishment. But leading trainer in races run takes multiple good horses.
"I also feel for the sport it's great to have someone else win the leading trainer titles. To have Keri win the leading trainer in money earned is great - The Mean Queen is good for the sport. And if Leslie takes home the leading trainer by wins title, that's great for the sport.
"I'm not running the barn. But I'm running a couple."
Tune in Sunday to watch how it all plays out. The NSA live stream, sponsored by Brown Advisory, The Post and Courier, the Virginia Equine Alliance and the Temple Gwathmey Steeplechase Foundation, will begin just before post time at 1pm, on the NSA website: www.nationalsteeplechase.com/jump-racing-usa/
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